Genetic Algorithms: Review of Recent Variants and Applications

Abstract

Genetic Algorithm (GA) is a meta-heuristic inspired by evolution, that belongs to the broad family of evolutionary algorithms. These algorithms are widely employed to provide high-quality solutions to optimization problems by concentrating on evolutionary biology operators (biological-inspired operators) such as:  mutations, crossover, and selection. This research aims to provide a comprehensive overview of GAs. The various research areas involved in GAs are covered, such as: the field of genetic operators, fitness function and hybrid algorithms, in addition to discuss GA models. Also, some other information on diversity maintenance methods is given, to allow readers to widen their knowledge in this field.